European travelers avoid US, impacting tourism

European travelers are shying away from visiting the US due to concerns over political and economic tensions, leading to a significant decline in international visitors and threatening lucrative air routes, according to a report by Financial Times.

In March, the number of western European visitors who spent at least one night in the US dropped by 17 percent compared to the previous year, said the report, quoting the International Trade Administration.

Specifically, travel from countries like Ireland, Norway and Germany witnessed a decline of over 20 percent, according to the report.

This downward trend is alarming for the US tourism sector, which contributes 2.5 percent to the nation's GDP.

Overall, the total count of overseas visitors to the US experienced a 12 percent year-on-year decrease in March, marking the most significant drop since March 2021.

"In just two months [Trump] has destroyed the reputation of the US, shown one way by diminished travel from the EU to the US," said the report, quoting Paul English, co-founder of travel website Kayak. "This is not only one more terrible blow to the US economy, it also represents a reputation damage that could take generations to repair."